Question NW88 to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
07 August 2024 - NW88
Van Rooyen, Mr DD to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
(1) Whether he will furnish Mr D D D van Rooyen with the (a) audit outcomes and (b) management reports of (i) his department and (ii) the entities that report to him for the past three financial years; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details; (2) whether the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has made any progress on the allocation of the new operator’s licence for the National Lottery, given the litigious nature of awarding the specified licence (details furnished); if not, why not; if so, what (a) are the full details of the process, including advertisements, that will be followed in the appointment of the new operator, (b) are the names of candidates in both the long and short list, (c) are the names of the interviewing panellists, (d) probity checks and/or independence tests have been conducted to, among other things, check if there are any relations between the Board members of the NLC and the members of his department, (e) assurances will the current Board of the NLC give to the nation that it will adjudicate and advise his department properly to avoid compromising the process and (f) on what dates are the interviews scheduled to be conducted?NW92E
Reply:
1. The audit outcomes of the dtic and its entities are available on their respective annual reports. The management reports are for management to enhance their internal control environment. Audit outcomes for the past three financial years have been provided in Annexure A.
(2)
a) The awarding and issuing of the National Lotteries Licence (“Licence”) is regulated under the Lotteries Act (Act no. 57 of 1997) (“Lotteries Act”). On 7 August 2023, Notice No. 1951 of 2023 was published in Government Gazette No.49091, calling on interest parties who wish to operate the National Lottery and Sports Pools to apply for access to a copy of the RFP for the Fourth National Lottery and National Sports Pools Licence. The RFP document was issued to the market on 31 August 2023.The closing date for receipt of applications was 3 February 2024.
b) There are currently no shortlisted candidates as the evaluation process is still underway. A total of eight (8) applications have been received.
c) The names of the Evaluation Committee appointed by the NLC are not published in order to protect the evaluation process from risks associated with their identities becoming public.
d) Members of the NLC Board and all external advisors on the RFP process have been required to complete a Conflict-of-Interest Declaration to ensure that they do not have any indirect or direct interest, financial or otherwise, which could reasonably be expected to compromise them and the NLC in the performance of their functions and impede their ability to conduct their duties independently.
e) The NLC Board is enjoined in terms of the Lotteries Act to amongst others approve, determine, oversee, or revise the broad policy framework within which the NLC must perform its functions, and to ensure that the NLC performs its functions in accordance with principles of transparency and accountability, which are free from personal bias, obligation, allegiance or favouritism. The Board is therefore committed to ensuring that the highest levels of probity are maintained within the NLC. The NLC’s Ethics and Conflict of Interest Policy is strictly enforced by the Board and the terms of the Lotteries Act and the RFP Document have been closely followed throughout to ensure that the integrity of the licensing process and integrity is not and will not be compromised.
f) The RFP Document does not contemplate a process of interviews to be conducted.
ANNEXURE A
Audit Outcomes for the departments and its entities.
|
Institution |
2022/23 |
2021/22 |
2020/21 |
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1 |
The department of Trade Industry and Competition (the dtic) |
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2 |
Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) |
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3 |
Companies Tribunal |
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4 |
Competition Commission |
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5 |
Competition Tribunal |
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6 |
Export Credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) |
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7 |
National Metrology Institute of South Africa (NMISA) |
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8 |
National Consumer Commission (NCC) |
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9 |
National Consumer Tribunal (NCT |
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10 |
National Credit Regulator (NCR) |
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11 |
National Regulator for Compulsory Specification (NRCS) |
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12 |
National Gambling Board (NGB) |
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13 |
South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) |
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14 |
The Takeover Regulation Panel (TRP) |
Listed on 28 March 2023 |
N/A |
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15 |
International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) |
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16 |
National Empowerment Fund (NEF) |
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17 |
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) |
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18 |
National Lotteries Commission (NLC) |
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19 |
Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) |
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20 |
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Commission - operates under the dtic and its finances are under the dtic. |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Unqualified/ No material findings (Clean Audit) |
Unqualified with material findings |
Qualified |